[Question #9577] Test Question

31 months ago

Hi , I recently quit taking prep (took it an additional 30 days from last unprotected encounter ) It has been 3 months now since I stopped taking the Truvada . I had a negative 4th gen HIV test at around 8 weeks after stopping. And a negative 4th gen test at 3 months (90 days ) after stopping prep. Would you consider this conclusive? I heard prep can delay result.

Im in a relationship right now and want to know if it is safe for me to have unprotected sex without fear of infecting my partner with hiv (if it were hidden due to the prep I took).

Thanks

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

31 months ago

Welcome to the forum; thank you for your question and for your confidence in our services.

Correct that if PEP fails to prevent HIV, it delays the time to conclusive testing with the HIV antigen-antibody (AgAb, 4th generation) blood tests. Some experts advise that it might be as long as 3 months after the last dose, but most of us consider 6 weeks conclusive. In any case, having tested negative 3 months after completing Truvada, you're definitely in the clear and can be certain you do not have HIV.

I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD

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31 months ago

Thank you doctor !

I wanted to say I took prep ( pre-exposure-prophylaxis) and not pep .

I will assume it is the same answer for prep ? That three months after last dose is enough for negative conclusive hiv test ?

Thanks

31 months ago

Also, just clarifying that I’m no longer taking the prep. I had side effects after a couple months of taking it which is why I decided to go off of it 3 months ago.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

31 months ago

Thanks for the correction -- indeed I was thinking PEP, not PrEP. Sorry. However, correct that it doesn't change my judgment about impact on timing of conclusive negative HIV test results.---
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31 months ago

Thank you doctor for clarifying that 3 months after I stopped PrEP (about total 4 months after last risky sexual encounter), my negative HIV test results would be conclusive.

I was going through my results and it mentioned that I was tested with the Abott Alinity HIV Combo Ag/Ab Immunoassay . I googled this test and on one FDA document it said this test detects qualitative detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) p24 antigen and antibodies to HIV type 1 (HIV-1 group M and group O) and/or type 2 (HIV-2) in human serum and plasma specimens.

Is this a good test? And Does this mean that this test only detects group m and group o?

What about the other HIV 1 and 2 groups / sub types? Are those still detected by Alinity?

In the document it also says

“A total of 532 specimens known to be positive for anti-HIV-1 and HIV-1 p24 antigen were evaluated using the Alinity s HIV Ag/Ab Combo assay. All anti-HIV-1 subtype positive (subtypes A-D, F-H, and J-L), anti-HIV-1 groups (N, O, P), and anti-HIV-1 URF subtype samples were detected by the Alinity s HIV Ag/Ab Combo assay. Additionally, all HIV-1 antigen subtype positive (subtypes B, C, and CRF02) samples (human) and a panel of 100 antigen samples from viral isolates derived from tissue culture supernatants were tested and were detected. The panel of viral isolates represented HIV-1 group M (subtypes A-D, F-H, and J, URFs, and CRFs) and groups N, O, and P.”

Does this mean that it does in fact detect the other groups as well? Or do I need to retest with another different test that will detect the other groups and strains of hiv 1 and 2 ?

Thank you

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

31 months ago

It's a perfectly good test, 100% reliable for all HIV types currently circulating in the US -- which indeed is the main outcome of the study you have cited. It's also conclusive (at 8+ weeks) for HIV2, which anyway is virtually absent in the US, with only ~300 cases in the 40+ years of our domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic, with almost all of those in people who acquired the infection in Africa or their regular partners.

Don't overthink it, and I suggest you cease searching about it online. I'll bet there has never been a case in the US of someone with your test result who later turned out to have HIV. You won't be the first. Most anxious people are easily misled by online searching, tending to see information that inflames their concerns while missing the reassuring information. It isn't worth the time or energy!

You can move on with zero concerns and no possibility of infecting your partner.

That completes the two follow-up exchanges included with each question and so ends this thread. I hope the discussion has been helpful. Best wishes and stay safe.

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